Improvement in rotary engines



EV'S. BENNETT.

Rotary-Engines.

zhetsusheetz.

Patented Dec. 24, 1872.

Fjzzesses afm.

UNITED STATES i PATENT OFFICE.

ERASTUS` S. BENNETT, OF BROOKLYN NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF,

THEODORE E.\PERKINS RICHARD B. THOMPSON, HENRY MGOLELLAN, AND EDWARD MGOLELLAN, OF SAME PLAGE.

IMPROVEMENT IN `ROTARY ENGINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 134,123, dated December 24, 1872.

To all lwhomv it may concern:

Be it known that I, the undersigned, ERAS- TUs S. BENNETT, of the city of Brooklyn, in county of Kings, State of New York, have invented certain Improvements in the construcjtion of Rotary Engines and Pumps 5 and I do hereby declare that the following is a clear and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawing and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

- The nature of my invention consists chieiiy in an improved form of outer cylinder whereby friction is lessened and other points of advantage gained 5 in the-manner of fitting the pistons so as to make them tight at the least expense; in supplying spring-shoes to the pistons to keep them in position, compensate for their wear, and furnish an increased bearing; in providing a lubricating device whereby the engine is perfectly lubricated, (the lubricating matter being distributed by centrifugal force 5) and in the combination and arrangement of the various parts.

In the accompanying drawing which forms a part of this speciiication, Figure l represents an end view of my engine, the head removed-ports, recesses, and cam by dotted lines, and the valve in half-section 5 Fig. 2 represents a cross-section of same, (in the direction of dotted line a a in Fig. 5,) of outer cylinder, valve, steam-chest, ports, and recesses 5 Fig. 3 represents thel inside view of the head, with cam and openings to steam-channel way; Fig. 4 represents the outside view of the head, shaft-bearing, and steam-channel way; Fig. 5 represents a longitudinal section of the engine, in the direction of dotted line c a, Fig. 1; Fig. 6 represents an enlarged view of the spring-shoe 5 Fig. 7 represents an enlargedview of the piston; Fig. 8 represents the valve-seat enlarged; and Fig. 9 represents the face of the valve correspondingly enlarged.

Similar letters represent corresponding Y parts.

A A, outer cylinder; B B, inner cylinder; D D D D, pistons; C O, cams, which are made fast to the heads; E E E E, spring-shoes, shown more fully in Fig. 6 5 F, shaft 5 G, hole bored longitudinally into the shaft; H H',

plug and tube, connecting oil-cup I with inner end of said hole G; J J J, holes connecting the said hole G with shaft-bearings; K K, holes connecting said hole G with each of the piston-slots L L L L; M M M M, a lining ot' Babbitt or other similar metal; N, channelways in head; o o, openings to said channelways, connecting one channel-way with ports P P, and the opposite one with ports Q Q. The inner cylinder B B fits snugly into the outer one at the top and bottom, so as to forni a steam-tight abutment at those points marked R R. The pistons are `made of plate steel, only sufficiently thick to stand the required pressure without springing. The slots L L are cast in the inner cylinder in such form as to furnish suitable cavities to iirmly lock the Babbitt-metal linings M M M M in their places. The pistons being fitted are placed in proper position in their slots, and the melted metal being run around them a close-litting lining is secured. The bottoms of the slots L L L L are cast a little larger so as to admit ofthe springshoes E E being passed through them to their positions under the pistons. A slight projection, S, is left at the bottom of each piston, to rest upon the spring-shoe and afford the spring room for action. The inner cylinder is perfectly round, while the outer cylinder is in the form of a true circle, gradually liattened at top and bottom between the points T T and U U, so as to bring the central points R R in contact with the cylinder B B. Recesses V V V V are cored outeach way from the central points or abutments R R to the port-openings.

In operation, steam being admitted through the valve strikes the upper piston D and (through the channel-way in the head) the lower piston D simultaneously forcing them, in the direction of the arrows, to just beyond the points previously occupied by pistons D D, when the steam escapes through the exhaust W, the upper one directly, the lower one through the channel-way; meantime the pistons D D have taken the places previously occupied by Dl D', and are in turn under pressure. It will be observed that, owing to the peculiar shape of the outer cylinder, the pistons do not move in their relation to the inner cylinder while they are under pressure, and that While not under pressure the steam ou the port sides has full play over their outer edges through the. recesses V V', thus balancing them While passing the abutment from port to port. The said recesses, by allowing the steam free passage over the edges of the piston While so passing from exhaust to port, entirely prevents back pressure. The inner edges of the pistons are clasped by the shoes E E E E, which rest upon the stationary cams C C, the center of said pistons S resting on the spring E. The spring-shoes are made of steel. The object of the shoe is to keep the spring in position under the piston and to furnish suitable bearings on the cams C C, While the springs press the pistons firmly to their positions against the cuter cylinder, and compensate for their Wear. The engine is lubricated perfectly from the single oil-cup I by gravity and centrifugal force. An air-cock oil-cup supplies oil, through the plug H and to Hf, to the bore Cr in the shaft. Suitable holes J J J through said shaft furnish the bearings with oil, While the holes K K supply the slots and pistons with oil. The oil from the holes K K striking on the springs first is by them carried to the cams, and nally to the outer cylinder. Each shaft-bearin g is supplied With one or more small grooves to retain the oil, which thus forms a packing, and renders packing-boxes unnecessary. No fly-Wheel is required with this engine (or pump.)

For pumps I malte the ports and channelways larger, omit the valve at the top, and in its stead attach an induction and eduction pipe. l

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. rlhe cylinder A A, when constructed substantially as set forth and provided with reeesscs V V each side-of the abutments R It, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

2. The metallic pistonpacking M M M M, When applied, substantially as set forth, to the pistons of a rotary engine or pump.

3. The springshoes E on spring E', in combination with the pistons of a rotary engine or pump, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. rIhe shaft F with the hole G of a rotary engine or pump, When supplied with one or more outlets, J or K, for the purpose of conveying lubricating material to engine or pump, as shown.

5. The combination, ina rotary engine, of the pistons D and spring-shoes E and springs E', substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. The combination, in a rotary engine, of the cam C G, spring-shoes E E, springs E', and pistons D D, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

City of Washington, D. C.

ERASTUS S. BENNETT.

Witnesses:

NoRFEsH THOMPSON, T. C. GoNNoLLY. 

